Scat Singing: Φωνητικός αυτοσχεδιασμός και ηχοχρωματική οργάνωση των συλλαβών στην μουσική τζαζ
Date Issued
April 22, 2019
Type
Μεταπτυχιακή Διπλωματική Εργασία
Abstract
Syllables are units of organisation for a sequence of speech sounds. They are made up by a combination of letters and therefore they can influence the rhythm of a language, its metre, its prosody and its stress patterns. In language, syllables are used as a basic component of words with which phrases are created within a syntactical structure of a language. The frames of speech rhythm (stress metre, pauses), speech dynamics (accentuation, articulation) and melodic contour, stress out a unique prosody of each language, which is conceived as authentic by indigenous speakers.
The current research is studying the music characteristics of syllables in vocal jazz improvisation named as Scat Singing. The study aims to reveal the vast influence of West-African derived speech dialects to jazz music, characterised by a wide range and variety of timbre and rhythm, which is imprinted in the pronunciation of syllables used in scat singing. The evolution of jazz music has brought an immense variety in syllabic choices, linked with foundational elements of instrumental jazz, such as swing feel, metric modulations and use of polyrhythms. The research is centered to the particular use of timbre in the organisation of syllabic choices, which, with its coherence plays a primal role to the organisation of musical phrases in scat singing. Therefore, for the purpose of understanding the use of syllabic choices, the research implements well-known transcriptions of jazz vocalists with detailed recordings of syllables used. The research showed that the use of timbre in syllabic choices contains a broad comprehension of vocal apparatus and specifically the contiguity of articulation and dynamics.
For someone who wishes to fathom in scat singing, transcribing melody and syllables of known vocal jazz improvisations is substantial. The experience of a vocal jazz improviser is gained through a detailed auditory imitation and production of all relevant qualities founded in jazz music.
Subjects